Nuremberg (dir. James Vanderbilt)
By: Adam Freed
Of the world’s greatest atrocities, there have been none that match the devastation of Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution” as it applied to the eradication of more than six million souls in less than a decade. As difficult as it may be to fathom, the unspeakable events that took place within the internment camps at Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenwald and countless others, were the doings of mortal men, made of the same flesh and blood as those targeted for extinction. By May of 1945 the Third Reich had fallen at the hands of the Allied Forces and its Führer had taken his own life. The pressing global question then became what to do with the captured Nazi high command, in particular Hermann Göring, Hitler’s right hand man, and now the highest ranking officer still alive. The fascinating true story of the Nuremberg Trials, in which the Nazi high command became the target of the world’s first collaborative prosecution is outlined admirably in James Vanderbilt's courtroom drama Nuremberg.
As fascinating as it is to bring the Nuremberg Trials to life in living color, framing the many key characters in the story for the screen presents Vanderbilt’s film with its first real hurdle. Without question the film belongs to Göring, whose dark essence is captured captivatingly by Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind). The aging Crowe is perfectly cast as the rotund and narcissistic German Reichmarchall, who the Australian acting legend injects with a captivating layer of humanity. Just as The Silence of the Lambs (1991) belongs to Hannibal Lecter, Jonathan Demme’s psychological horror masterpiece required the driving force of Jodie Foster to steer the film’s investigation as the infamous cannibal wasted away behind bars. Attempting to present a suitable counterbalance to Crowe’s magnetic screen villainy is Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, Oppenheimer) who plays military psychologist Douglas Kelley, a disappointingly static character when weighed in contrast to the historically rich environment in which his character finds himself. This is no fault of Malek’s, who squeezes every ounce of intrigue out of a character that is never written with anywhere near the depth of the man he seeks to analyze.
The saving grace of Nuremberg is found in the performance of Micahel Shannon (Revolutionary Road, Nocturnal Animals) who embodies Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, the appointed chief U.S. prosecutor during the trials. Shannon plays Jackson as a righteous, but imperfect attorney, well versed in the gravity of the world’s first ever combined prosecution. The magic of Shannon’s brilliance is never found in the bombastic nature of his delivery, but rather in the actor’s patience and willingness to allow moments to breathe around him. Vanderbilt’s film may have benefitted on providing Jackson even more room to roam throughout the proceedings, but at nearly 150 minutes, Sony Pictures Classics’ editing department was likely staring daggers at any suggestion beyond giving the historic courtroom thriller the guillotine treatment. Nuremberg may be an imperfect iteration of a harrowing time in global history, but thanks to the gravitational performances of Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon, the courtroom thriller is certainly worthy of attention.
Target Score 6.5/10 - Writer and director James Vanderbilt presents a slightly imbalanced, but ultimately intriguing courtroom drama that follows the global prosecution of the Nazi high command during the titular Nuremberg Trials. Nuremberg is a must-see for WWII history buffs, drawing the final chapter of the Third Reich to a dramatic and final conclusion.